From real estate to retail, whether you sell paintings or practice the art of swinging a hammer, one of the biggest challenges you’ll face in business is sales and communication. Knowing the secrets to successful sales is a hallmark of any thriving person or project. Conversely, entire enterprises and multimillion-dollar opportunities have been lost or ruined because the people on the front line didn’t know what they were doing, and the decision-makers forgot the importance of teaching their teams how to use the weapons at their disposal.
Today, my intention is to clear a few common misconceptions about the who, what, and why of sales and lay a solid groundwork for you to start figuring out the how of strategy and success in sales.
WHO: Sales is for Everyone
There’s a common misconception that to be good at sales, you have to have natural talent, charisma, and an extroverted personality.
This isn’t true. While there’s something to be said for not having to overcome social anxiety, sales is a game of skill and strategy. To be the best at sales, you need the most understanding and the sharpest skills, which come with study and repetition.
Extroverts often think their smiles and swagger will have customers surrendering their credit cards, but the reality is they often get outworked and outperformed by the introvert who had to try harder, but who has more skill and ability.

So, who is sales for? You. Sales are for everyone.
WHAT: Communication and Problem Solving
When you think of a salesperson, you might picture a smarmy, smooth-talking trickster who tries to hook you into buying something you don’t really want or need. Let’s break down that image because that is not real sales.
Real sales is the process of identifying a problem, providing the correct solution, and closing the deal. To do this, you first need to be good at communication—listening to what the customer is really saying and understanding their true problem. Once you know that, you can figure out if your solution is the right one for them.
But the last and most important step is closing the deal. You can have the best product in the world at the best price, but if you don’t know how to close, it means nothing. Someone with a lesser solution will make money that should have been yours.
So, what is sales? Effective communication, problem-solving, and decision-making.
“People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
Simon Sinek, Author of Start With Why
WHY: Your Purpose in Sales
Your why—and the why of sales—is the mortar holding the bricks together. We skip through the pages of a book for the content inside, but without the binding, the pages get scattered in the wind. Your why is your purpose, your mission, your end goal. If it’s strong, it’ll be the wind at your back, pushing you through tough times. If it’s weak, the price of entry into success will feel too high when the weight of rejection or failure hits.
If you’re not clear on your why, get clear now. The why of selling is simple: if you truly believe in what you’re doing, if you’re convinced it can change the world—one person at a time—it’s your responsibility to guide people toward the right choice.
So, why do we sell? Because the world would be a far worse place if good people didn’t step up and lead the way toward the things that solve problems.
Choose Your Path
So, consider this a crossroads, my dear persuasive friends. Down the well-beaten trail of mediocrity and reasons “why you can’t,” you’ll find yourself in the same place you started, living a challenge-free but ordinary life. Down the less-beaten trail, you’ll find struggle, challenge, doubt, and success if you can rise above the noise and stay true to your purpose.
Choose wisely.

I’ll see you down the road less traveled.
Sebastian Botkin has been actively selling since the age of 15 but has been an avid negotiator since he left diapers. As a high-horsepower trainer at Cheat Code Sales and Marketing, Sebastian is actively decoding the “mysteries” of sales to bring the simplicity of success to those who are keen to achieve it. On a mission to help people step up, stand up, and speak up for what they believe in, he can be reached here for consulting and sales training services.